1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus (including electronic equipment with a recording apparatus) in which a platen means for supporting a recording medium onto a recording surface of a recording means can be moved from the recording surface of the recording means.
2. Related Background Art
A recording unit for recording a calculation result is often provided in electronic equipment such as an electronic calculator.
In such electronic equipment, the recording unit is stored in a casing of the electronic equipment, and roll paper is used as recording paper serving as a recording medium. The roll paper is often pivotally supported by a roll paper holder that extends outside the housing of the electronic equipment.
The distal end of the recording paper that is unattached from the roll state is guided toward the recording unit through an insertion port as an opening formed in part of the housing of the electronic equipment.
However, electronic equipment of this type has been increasingly miniaturize, and the recording unit and the recording paper holder have been already made as compact as possible. For this reason, it is very awkward to insert the distal end of the unattached recording paper through the insertion port toward the recording unit in order to set a recording enable state.
In order to solve the above problem, a recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has been proposed (a patent application describing this apparatus was filed and published in Japan as Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 35410/1984). More specifically, roll paper 1 is stored in a recess portion of a paper casing 8. The distal end of the roll paper 1 is guided to a printing head 6 via a guide 9. A paper cover 2 is arranged above the roll paper 1 and is pivotal about a shaft 4. A portion of the paper cover 2 serves as a platen section 2a facing the printing head 6, and has a tension roller 3 which is urged against a feed roller 5 provided to the guide 9. In the above arrangement, when a sheet is to be set between the platen section 2a and the printing head 6, the paper cover 2 is opened in the direction indicated by arrow a to set the roll paper in the paper casing 8. Then, the distal end is drawn from the roll paper 1 and is placed on the feed roller 5 and the printing head 6, and the paper cover 2 is closed in the direction indicated by arrow b. However, this conventional apparatus poses the following problem.
In the conventional apparatus, the paper cover 2 is pivoted about the shaft 4. Therefore, nothing can be arranged on the upper surface of the cover 2 because the cover 2 cannot be opened if something is so arranged. A paper cutter for cutting the roll paper is normally arranged in a recording apparatus of this type. The paper cutter is often arranged on the upper surface of the cover 2. However, the paper cutter cannot project from the upper surface of the cover 2 due to the above-mentioned limitation. If the distal end of the paper cutter cannot project from the upper surface of the cover 2, an angle formed by the cutter an the paper becomes obtuse, resulting in poor cutting quality.
Again, if the distal end of the paper cutter cannot project from the upper surface of the cover 2, the paper cutter cannot be expected to wind the sheet around the platen section 2a.
In the conventional apparatus, since the paper cover 2 covers the roll paper 1, it becomes a large plate shape, vibrated during recording operation, and thus easily generates noise. In the assignee's copending application Ser. No. 906,079 filed in the United States on Sept. 10, 1986, a technique allowing a platen means to be movable without covering the roll paper has been disclosed.